1. Field of the Invention
The apparatus of the present invention relates to laparoscopic suturing, and to an improved needle used therefor. Moreover, the present invention relates to an apparatus which is utilized to suture incisions during laparoscopic surgery including a needle which provides a bore through its body to perform the suturing process.
2. General Background
In the general art of surgery of the type which uses a trocar, which is an instrument inserted, for example, into the abdominal wall wherein laparoscopic surgical instruments can be operated through the trocar, and the operation can be viewed by the surgeon through the use of fiber optics techniques during the surgery. Following the surgery through the use of a trocar, one must of course close any incisions which have been made within the abdominal cavity as a result of surgery. Therefore, there is a need for a type of suturing assembly which can be utilized through the trocar, so that the surgeon may insert it through the trocar tube and undertake the suturing of the incision without having to of course open the abdominal cavity.
Such a device would require a rather novel needle member, and the needle member would be used with an assembly that could be inserted through a port in the body wall, and the suturing could take place while viewed through a remote source, such as a viewing screen used with a fiber optic unit.
There have been a number of prior art patents issued on the general subject matter of suturing and the needles involved, the most common found in the art, being as follows:
______________________________________ PATENT NO. TITLE ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ 2,581,564 Atraumatic Surgical Needle Jan. 8, 1952 430,826 Fish String Needle Jun. 24, 1890 3,074,409 Surgical Needle For Medical Jan. 22, 1963 Purposes 604,119 Surgical Needle May 17, 1898 1,757,129 Atraumatic Rethreadable May 6, 1930 Surgical Needle 25 32 242 Suturing Needle With Thread Jul. 18, 1975 Feed And Release 0,207,545 Micro-Surgical Suture Needle Jan. 1987 31 36 100 Dutch Patent Sep. 11, 1983 ______________________________________
Other objects of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the following description of the invention.